This invention relates generally to Christmas tree stands, and more particularly to permanently assembled Christmas tree stands that fold to a flat, planer configuration for ease of storage and shipping.
A number of mechanisms have been invented for holding and supporting real and artificial Christmas trees in homes where such trees are displayed. Some of these support mechanisms incorporate features such as collapsing supports for compact storage, unimpeded space under the tree trunk for placement of watering devices, and legs that adjust to correctly set and position the vertical axis of the tree.
Accordingly, several early designs addressed the problem of compact Christmas tree stand storage by having the tree stand legs collapse about .independent axes. For example U.S. Pat. No. 904,227 to Rice incorporated symmetrical tree stand legs that collapse about independent vertical axes. The Rice design, however, requires that the tree trunk be centered in relation to the legs, and in addition, it prevents the tree trunk from extending below the legs of the tree stand. Accordingly, this design makes it impractical for placement of a water source under the tree to feed the same. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,445,625 to Junkunc U.S., and U.S. Pat. No. 2,500,215 to Swearingen, include legs that pivot about a vertical axis. These designs, like Rice, also require the trunk of the tree to be positioned in the symmetrical center of the stand. This configuration, in turn, requires that the legs either be positioned around the tree trunk such as in Junkunc, or that the legs run under tree trunk, as in Swearingen. Moreover, none of these designs provide a stand that, when assembled, collapses to a flat configuration for ease of storage and shipping.
Other designs such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,650,783 to Stanley, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,045,959 to Herrington disclose legs that collapse about horizontal axes. Although these designs provide space for a watering system below the tree trunk, they share some of the same problems of the above designs: they cannot collapse to a flat planar shape when not in use. Likewise, they are difficult to store or ship.
Finally, designs such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,049 to Davis, that illustrates a noncollapsible stand, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,347 to Kuhnley, that illustrates a somewhat complicated stand having many movable parts, are impractical for home use.
Accordingly, a need remains for an improved Christmas tree stand that is simple, and that collapses to a flat structure for ease of storage and shipping, inexpensive, easy to install and use, and can readily be adapted to different trees.